Racing: Reunion relives Norwood Arena heyday

Saturday

Jun 8, 2013 at 12:01 AM

NORWOOD, Mass. — There used to be 10 to 15 small racetracks in the Greater Boston area in the 1950s and 1960s, according to local race historian Bob Silvia. But as suburbia spread, he said the tracks were...

By Peter C.T. Elsworth

NORWOOD, Mass. — There used to be 10 to 15 small racetracks in the Greater Boston area in the 1950s and 1960s, according to local race historian Bob Silvia.

But as suburbia spread, he said the tracks were closed until there was only one, the Norwood Arena just off Route 1, which was then the main road linking Providence and Boston.

And that track closed in 1972, leaving little more than memories as the site was transformed into an industrial park. But those memories were very much alive among a group of former drivers and fans who met Sunday at the annual Norwood Arena/New England Dragway South Reunion at Bezema Motors, a used-car dealership just up the road from the former track.

“Norwood is where it started for me,” said Pete Hamilton, who went on to race nationwide, including winning the 1970 Daytona 500 in a Plymouth Superbird. “People who ran well at Norwood ran well elsewhere.”

Silvia said, “We started meeting 10 years ago,” but added that fewer and fewer drivers were able to make the trip. “Less and less of them are mobile,” he said. “Even the people who watched them are getting old.”

Many brought their old race cars along with their memories. Silvia drove up in a small truck from the Pronyne Motorsports Museum in Pawtucket, which has a walk-through display dedicated to the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame as well as a number of Paul Masse’s hand-painted model race cars.

Silvia is the historian at the museum, which is owned by his partner Ric Mariscal.

The Norwood Arena was a well-appointed track, according to Don Thomas, who has put together a detailed website. It includes an aerial shot of the site as it appears today, with the former track interactively superimposed.

Thomas said that, in 1947, the arena was built as a dog track by investors who were looking at the potential profits from pari-mutuel betting.

He said the investors built a state-of-the-art facility, including a clubhouse and dance terrace with a Westinghouse light and sound system, but they could not get the gambling permit. “They threw money at the project, but it never passed,” he said.

And so it became a quarter-mile, paved oval racetrack, he said. That was in 1948 and, for the next 20 years or so, it thrived. Indeed, in 1961 it hosted the Yankee 500, which was part of NASCAR’s Grand National series, now known as the Sprint Cup.

Thomas said his family was at the arena in 1963 when Chief Steward Carl Merrill learned that his younger brother, 8-year-old Johnny, had leukemia. He said Carl Merrill took Johnny to the pits to meet the drivers, and, “From then on, he was included in the racing as a junior official, complete with a white uniform.”

Thomas said the family subsequently became hooked on racing, continuing after Johnny succumbed to leukemia the following year. He said the track hosted an annual memorial race in Johnny’s honor starting in 1964 and continuing until 1972.

Meanwhile, the business of racing was thriving.

“The world’s most thrilling sport,” reads a flier from 1953 that advertised racing at the arena every Saturday at 8 pm.

The track “was very tricky, very small and very circular,” said Lew Boyd, who used to race at Norwood and was selling racing memorabilia Sunday. “You couldn’t tell where you were, it was one gigantic turn.”

“It was the epitome of the young guy next door doing extraordinary things,” he said. “You really did put your derriere on the line; there was a fine line between bravery and sanity.”

Peter Desjardins, who used to race No. x9, said, “There were very, very competitive guys on this track.

“It was tough to set up for, but fun to run and I enjoyed the heck out of it and that’s why I’m here today.”

However, the times were changing and when the track added a drag strip along the northern parking lot, the uproar from neighbors forced the issue.